You work hard for your
money! Our paycheck funds our life, but have you ever considered how long
you have to work for the things you use each month? Our Bank On Virginia
Beach investigator has created a chart we can use to give us a sense for how
long we need to work for our things.
We all know that if your
hourly wage is less, you take less home. But if your hourly wage is less,
you also have to invest more labor to purchase the things you enjoy. For
instance, if you buy a 20 gallon tank of gas for your car, you would have to
work 10.9 hours for that tank if you earn $8.00 an hour before tax, but if you
earn $18.00 per hour, you would only have to work 4.9 hours for the same tank
of gas.
Would you be willing to
work 1/2 hour for a cup of premium coffee? People do it every day.
Likewise would you be willing to work almost 1/2 a week to have coffee every
day? People do it all the time. When we take time to consider how
long we have to work to earn the things we enjoy, our choices take on new life.
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HOURS WORKED FOR COFFEE
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Before Tax Hourly Pay
|
$5 Cup of Coffee
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Coffee for a Month
|
|
$8.00
|
.8 hours
|
23.4 hours
|
|
$12.00
|
.5 hours
|
15.6 hours
|
|
$18.00
|
.3 hours
|
10.4 hours
|
|
$25.00
|
.3 hours
|
7.5 hours
|
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HOURS WORKED FOR
REGULAR EXPENSES
|
||||
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Before Tax Hourly Pay
|
20 Gallons of Gas at $3.50
|
$350 Car Payment
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$1200 Tuition
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$10,000 Loan at 7% Interest
|
|
$8.00
|
10.9
|
54.7
|
187.5
|
1,856.3
|
|
$12.00
|
7.3
|
36.5
|
125.0
|
1,237.5
|
|
$18.00
|
4.9
|
24.3
|
83.3
|
825.0
|
|
$25.00
|
3.5
|
17.5
|
60.0
|
594.0
|
Note: Assumes 20% tax
rate for federal and state taxes.
